The Hohner "Telecaster" Guitar.
Bought in 1980 from Knut Koupee Music store in Mineapolis, Prince according to Karl Dedolph the stores manager, probably chose the guitar because of it's leopard skin pickguard which matched his stage outfit. The budget guitar's raw tone was ideal for the clean guitar chugging and staccato rhythms of Punk-Funk. He used it whilst supporting Rick James that year, on the "Dirty Mind" album and on almost every tour to date. A Telecaster variant, the guitar differs greatly to the Fender industry standard. The Hohner is all maple finished in blonde, as opposed to the Ash and Alder body of a Fender. The tonal properties of Maple suit the artist well, it has a bright top end and good sustain; he chose this wood for all his later custom guitars. The Hohners distinctive imitation Mahogany binding on the edges and central join bind a two-piece figured Maple top, the neck is also highly figured one piece affair.
The
pickups and wiring also differ from a Fender, the Hohner has two bridge
style single coils with raised pillars and passive wiring; also there is
no treble inducing metal plate at the bridge. The cheaper construction
ofthe Hohner gave rise to problems in the studio, according to Kyle Bess,
one time staff engineer at The Recording Plant in L.A., the Artist insisted
on the guitar, favouring it's tone which he once described as "Raggedy".
Discontinued re-issues of the guitar called "Hohner Proffesional Te
Prinz" can still be tracked down.
The "Cloud" Guitar.
This classic was originally built in 1983 by David Husain luthior at Knut Koupee music store, which began in 1976 as a repaire shop. The design is based on a bass guitar Prince used in the video for "Why you Wanna Treat me so bad." (A Bass version of the guitar was on display at the NPG in Minneaplolis until it's closure.). Features of the guitar include the thru neck design (All maple.), the truss rod cover (Which is numbered according to the model 1,2,3 etc..), the three way pickup selector, the "Schaller" machine heads, front loading jack and a one piece tunomatic bridge. The layout of the E.M.G. pickups encorporates the best of "Fender" and "Gibson" tones: a Humbucker at the bridge and a Stratocaster Single coil at the neck, giving added versatility and "poke". The guitar incorporates active electronics. Another feature of the guitar is it's three quater scale length which gives a spongy feel to the strings and aids a wide, fast vibrato.
The "Cloud" changed the sound of the Artist as much as it changed his image, giving rise to the punchy transistor fuzz he is famous for. Although only four were originally patented (These have been resprayed to suit his cosmetic needs.) there have been variations including a Blue model with "Batsign" inlays on the neck. Putting £3.000 on your gold card will buy you a copy of the guitar, otherwise steal one from any number of exhibits including Hard Rock Cafe's in Nashville and Honolulu and the NPG stores until their closure.
The
"Model C" Guitar.
Used extensively on the "Nude Tour", this guitar and and it's Bass counterpart were designed and built by Auerswald guitars in Germany. The guitar featured a one piece Wengewood construction a String locking Bridge and the distinctive tie bar designed to aid sustain, which the Artist demonstrated by playing entire songs using only his left hand! Another feature of the guitar is the greenish Purple finish which incorporates 20 coats of aircraft paint.
The design of the guitar resembles the Roland GR 707 guitar synth once used by Wendy Melvion, though the story goes that the original was a gift from Princess Gloria of Thurn und Taxis in Germany, a replica of which was made by Jerry Auerswald as the original was too precious to use. A production version of the Anastasia will cost you a mere £2.500
The
"Symbol" guitar.
Also
made by Auerswald instruments, the Artists trademark axe for the nieties
was originally a 24 fret affair with Tunomatic. The new versions are rear
string loading with 90's Fender style bridge saddles. Although it retains
the stats of the Cloud guitar, this cutting edge instrument has a unique
tone, which has a more compressed sound than it's predessesor. Versions
of the guitar exist to date in White, Black and Gold. As well as the Cloud,
the neck is also modelled on a Les Paul (Short scale, flat frets, Shallow
camber and a "C" shaped profile.)
Other Guitars used by the Artist.
The
Artist used a Les Paul Junior prior to purchasing the Hohner, from photos
and tour footage it appears it had LEDs on the body and later was finished
in Leopard skin. He also used a Gold top Les Paul Junior in the "Dinner
with Delores" video. He often uses roundback guitars for a warm jazz
tone, most recently Epiphones. He has used many types of acoustic and was
recently on stage with a Godin Hybrid electric guitar.
Other Information.
The Artist uses 10-46 gauge GHS strings on the cloud, symbol and Anastasia models and 11-50 gauge GHS strings on the Hohner. He has them re-strung and covered in finger-ease before every performance.
